


The other consultant

by consumed_by_feels



Category: White Collar
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25043236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/consumed_by_feels/pseuds/consumed_by_feels
Summary: What if Neal Caffrey wasn't alone? What if he had a partner in crime (literally) Samantha (Sam) kingsman was Neal Caffrey's partner and best friend.  Sam and Neal were inseparable, neither one of them commited a crime without the other.
Relationships: Neal Caffrey/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Sam picked up the newspaper and read that Special Agent Peter Burke had caught and arrested Neal Caffrey after three years of chasing him. She looked at Mozzie and said

"I should be right there with him. I was his partner I'm just as guilty as he is"

"You know he wants you free and safe he said it himself"

"I know but Mozzie I can't sit here free well Neal is wasting away in jail. I have to do something, I have to turn myself in to the FBI."

"Neal's not going to like this"

"I don't care I'm going to find agent Burke and turn myself in and there's nothing Neal, you or anybody else can do about it"

"Sam-"

"Don't try to stop me or convince me not to cause it wont work. I'll see you when I get out"

"Sam don't do this"

"Goodbye Mozzie"

Sam left and rode her motorcycle to the FBI headquarters were she found Peter Burke and turned herself in. She explained that she was Neal's acomples and had helped him with all his illegal activities. Agent Burke arrested her on the spot and took her to the same prison that Neal was. She found Neal and gave him a huge hug. He hugged her back for a few seconds before pulling away 

"Sam what are you doing here? I told you to stay safe and that I'd see you when I got out"

"You're serving a four year sentence I couldn't go four years without you. You're the only family I have and besides I couldn't let you take all the credit"

Neal smirked and brought Sam in for another hug

"Don't ever change"

"I won't if you won't"

"Deal"


	2. The escape

*Time skip*

"Neal you can't do this" Sam tried to reason with him

"I have to Sam. If I don't I'm gonna lose Alex" Neal argued. It hurt Sam that Neal would go to such lengths to stay with Alex even though she clearly didn't want to be with him. Sam was madly in love with Neal. She had been for awhile but she didn't dare say anything for fear of ruining her relationship with Neal. She'd rather have him as friend then not at all.

"Fine then let me come with you"

"No. You stay here you only have three months left then you're free"

"If you go I go. I won't let you do this alone. We're in this together

"Are you sure you want to do this?" 

"Yeah I'm sure"

"Okay so how are you going to escape? You can't dress like a guard like I am"

"I'll figure it out and meet you outside and we can hijack a car"

"Good luck"

"You too"

They went there separate ways and executed there escape plains. Neal pretend to be a guard and walked out the front door and Sam paid some of the other prisoners to cause a distraction and slipped out the back door. Sam found Neal in the parking lot hotwiring a rickety old truck

"Really Neal? That's the car?"

"It might not look like much but it will to get us into the city"

"And when we get there?"

"We'll get a better car"

Neal held a change of clothes out to Sam

"Here put these on"

"Is there a reason you have my clothes?"

"I have them so you can get changed. You can't run around town in a prison jumpsuit now can you?"

"You have a point there. But where am I supposed to change? It's not like I can go back in and ask to change in the bathroom."

"You can change right here. I'll look away"

Sam sighed and said "fine"

Sam quickly changed well Neal got In the truck and popped a cassette into the player. Music begin to play and Neal pulled three dollars out of the ash tray and smiled. Sam hopped into the passenger seat and Neal put the car into drive. The drive to the city was quite other then the music playing softly in the background. Neither one of them felt the need to fill the silence. It was comfortable, familiar. They parked the car and walked along the sidewalk until Neal stopped In front of a rack of jackets and pulled a yellow windbreaker off the rack. The man selling the jacket came over. Looking at Neal he said

"Hi, how are you doing, man?" 

"Good, how're you doing"

"I'm fine."

Neal wiped the jacket on in front of a mirror. He looked at his reflection with a smile

"Only five bucks, man." The man said

Neal smiled and said "I'll give you three."

Sam and Neal got back into the truck and drove to the airport

"The airport?" Sam asked when they got there "What are we doing here?"

"You'll see"

There was a line of cars and several people wearing identical yellow windbreakers parking the cars. A rich man pulled up and Neal jogged over to him with Sam not far behind

"Sir!" Neal said

"Take good care of her, I'll be back in a month" the rich man said handing Neal a hundred dollar bill.

"Thank you, Sir." 

Neal and Sam got into the car and drove away

"This is why you needed that stupid yellow windbreaker" Sam said 

"You think its stupid?"

"I think it's incredibly stupid but of course you can pull it off. Heck you can pull anything off"

"Thanks"

Neal and Sam drove rich man's car down the Brooklyn bridge and Neal let out a breath with a smile.

"We did it Neal, were free. At least until were caught"

"One thing at a time . Let's find Alex then we can worry about what to do about the FBI"

"You know Burk is probably looking for you as we speak right?"

"Yeah I bet he is"

"You know he's gonna catch us. He caught you once before he'll do it again"

"I know but I can't worry about that now. Right now all I can worry about is finding Alex and getting her back"

"Right. The whole reason we broke out"

"Yeah"

Meanwhile Peter and his crew were hard at work trying to catch another clever criminal. One that was almost as good as Neal. 

FBI agents were standing around, waiting for the Technician to open a vault. The vault was a big break in the case it was supposed to get them closer to catching the criminal known as the Dutchman

The Technician placed his ear to vault. The sound of a lock turning could be heard due to the sound equipment that was hooked up to the vault. Agent Peter Burke was clearly impatient as he waited for the Technician to open the vault.

Peter let out a breath when the Technician said 

"Drop three"

"Drop two. Drop four. All pins down, preparing to open." said the Technician 

Peter was muttering "Three, two, four...?" Under his breath

The technician reached for handle.

"Three, two, four" Peter continued. Realization hit Peter and he shouted "Wait!"

Tue technician didn't wait. when he opened it the vault exploded. Dust was everywhere and the FBI agents doubled over, coughing

"Are you okay!?" Peter asked before running into the vault room to get the technician. He came back out with technician and the technician asked 

"What happened?"

"I said wait, you didn't wait! Ah! Ten thousand man hours to get this close to the Dutchman and you blow up my evidence." 

"Agent Burke, how did you know it was going to do that?" Agent Clinton Johns asked

Peter dusted himself off and said "Three-two-four. Look at your phones. What's it spell?"

"Oh, FBI" said Johns

"Yeah, FBI." Peter said

"Apparently knew we were coming." Jones said 

"You think so, Copernicus? Somebody wanna- wanna tell me what this is? [pulls a red fiber of his jacket] Huh? Anybody? Nobody knows what it is. Great. Look at you. How many of you went to Harvard?" Peter asked

Most of the agents raised their hands

"Don't- don't raise your hands. Don't" Peter said exasperated. He spotted probationary officer Diana making her way through the agents. And said

"Ah, Diana. Look at this. Apparently our boy has a sense of humor."

Diana looked grim. so Peter asked

"What?"

"Neal Caffrey and Samantha Kingsmen Escaped." she said quietly

Peter left with Diana. As they walked down a hallway Diana handed him a file

"What's this?" Peter asked 

"U.S. Marshals are requesting your help." Diana told him

"My help?"

"Director Thompson asked for you personally" 

"Me? Why would he want me?"

"Probably because you're the only one who ever caught Neal and Samantha turned herself into you"

Peter went to the prison were Neal and Samantha escaped from immediately. When he got there he was meet by Director Thompson

"Agent Burke. I'm Thompson, U.S. Marshals. Appreciate the help. You were the case agent?"

"Yes, I was."

"So you'll agree this is an unusual situation." Thompson asked

"Why would Neal and Samantha run with three months left on a four year sentence?

"Well, that's what we're wondering" Thompson said 

Haskley walked in and Thompson introduce them

"This is Warden Haskley, Agent Burke, F.B.I."

"You're the guy who dropped the ball." Peter said to Haskley

"You of all people should know what Caffrey's capable of." was his response

"I know I spent three years of my life chasing him and you let him and Samantha walk out the front door."

"Gentleman, might I remind you that Caffrey and Kingsmen have a four hour head start?" Thompson said 

Peter and Haskley followed Thompson into the prison. Peter, Haskley, and Thompson walked along the cell blocks

"Caffrey came out of the E-block staff bathroom dressed as a guard. Where did he get the uniform?" Peter asked.

It was Thompson who answered

"Uniform supply company on the internet."

"He used a credit card?" Peter asked 

Thompson shot Haskley a dirty look. And   
Haskley cleared his throat before saying

" He,uh,used my wife's American Express."

"We're tracking the number in case he uses it again" Thompson said

"He won't." Peter said

They arrived at Neal Caffrey's cell. He had paintings on the wall, piles of books on the bed, and a wall full of tally marks. Peter walked into the cell and studied the wall.

"How'd he get the key cards for the gate?" Peter asked

"Well, we think he restriped a utility card using the record head on that" Thompson told him nodding to the cassette player on the table

Peter ejected the cassette and flipped it over 

"Should've given him a CD player." he said 

Peter sat down on the bed and picked up a book.

"He walked out the front door, hotwired a maintenance truck in the parking lot."

Peter flipped through a truck maintenance manual

"We found it abandoned near the airport."   
Thompson said

"We beefed up security just in case he tries to get out that way." Haskley said

"Well, we're not going to catch Caffrey and Kingsmen using roadblocks and wanted posters."

Peter pulled a flyer out of a book and Examined it. The flyer said: Executive Services Airport Parking and had a picture of men in yellow windbreakers. Peter leaned over the broken mirror Neal used to shave and picked up the razor.

"He shaved his beard just before he escaped" Haskley said

"Neal doesn't have a beard" Peter said

They went to the security room so Peter could see that Neal had a beard Thompson showed Peter security camera footage of Neal with a scraggly beard

"The inmates are photographed each morning as they exit their cells." Haskley said 

"I hardly recognize him." Peter told them

"Yeah, I think that's the point." Thompson said

Peter Indicated the TV "This morning?" He asked

"Yes." said the technician

"Run the series back." Peter said to him

The technician rewinded the video and day after day, Neal's beard slowly disappears 

"Stop" Peter said

The technician stopped the video and then played an image of a clean-shaven Neal.

"That's it, when he stopped shaving. I want to know everything that happened that day." Peter said

Pete looked at the log book. Next to "Neal Caffrey" is the name "Kate Moreau."

"He had a visitor" Peter said 

He plopped down the log book and put a hand to his face.

"Kate Moreau.You know her?" Thompson asked

"Yeah, I do." Peter said

The technician pulled up the security footage of Kate talking to Neal through a glass partition.

"No audio?" asked Peter

"No" Haskly said

Thompson fliped through the log book and said "She comes back every week like clockwork"

"She's not thrilled about this visit." Peter said intent on the video

On the video, Kate stood up, saying something. Neal put his hand to the glass, reaching out to her.

"How soon can we get a lip reader in here?" Thompson asked

"I'll save you the trouble. 'Adios, Neal. It's been real.'" Peter said

The image of Neal's face reflected in the partition made it clear he was pleading with her.

"She come back the next week?" Peter asked

"Ah, she never came back." Said Thompson 

" Okay, let's find Kate." Peter said 

On the video, Neal stood up, still entreating Kate, even though she was walking off.

Well Peter was at the prison with Thompson and Haskley Neal and Sam were head to Alex's

The rest of the ride to Alex's apartment was silent. Neal was thinking about what he was going to say to Alex and Sam was wishing she had stayed in prison. She didn't want to see the way Neal looked at Alex, and she didn't want hear what Neal had to say to her. But even though Sam didn't want to hear what he had to say she meant what she said, They were in it together. They had always been that way. They're inseparable and they always had been. Outside or prison and in. They stopped In front of Alex's apartment building. Sam went up in with Neal, she even went as far as Alex's door before saying

"This is something you need to do by yourself. I'll be right here waiting for you"

"Thanks Sam for everything. I don't know what I would do without you. You're my best friend"

"I feel the same way. Now get in there"

Neal walked into the apartment to find it completely empty aside from an empty Bordeaux wine bottle. He sunk down next to the bottle and leaned into a pillar and slowly rotated the bottle in his hands. He sighed clearly upset. Sam slowly walked over to him. She was worried about him, she knew what Alex meant to him.

"Neal are you okay?" Sam asked kneeling down next to him. She put her arm around him trying to comfort him

"She's gone. Alex is gone and she's never coming back"

"How can you be so sure?"

"The bottle. It's a message it means goodbye"

"Well maybe it means goodbye for now. Maybe you will see her again"

"I don't think so Sam"

As they the FBI was surroundings the building and Peter was walking down the hallway toward the room Neal and Sam were in.

"I see Kate moved out." Peter said 

Neal looked up at him and sighed. Sam just looked at Peter and gave him a look.

"She leave you a message in that?" Peter asked sympathetically

"The bottle is the message." Neal replied

"It's been a while." Pete pointed out

"Yeah, few years, give or take."

"You carrying?"

"You know I don't like guns."

"How about you Samantha? Are you carrying?"

"I don't like guns either"

Peter turned back to Neal and said

"They asked me, what makes a guy like you pull a boneheaded escape with four months to go?"

"Guess you figured it out."

"Kate says adios to you in prison and gets busy with her disappearing act. The trail ends here. But you already know that."

"Missed her by two days."

"Still. Only took you a month and a half to escape a supermax. Damn impressive."

Neal managed a small laugh and Sam smiled it was Damn impressive wasn't it. Sam hadn't really thought about it, it was Neal she wasn't surprised that it only took him a month and a half to break out. she was proud to be able to call Neal her friend. Peter's radio buzzed and he picked it up and spoke to whoever was on the other end

"Subjects identified and unarmed"

"Roger that" the person on the other end of the radio 

"We surrounded?" Neal asked

Peter nodded

"How many?" Sam asked

"Including my agents, and the Marshalls? All of them, I think." Peter said appearing to think

Neal and Sam nodded

"What's the message?" Peter asked Neal

"Good-bye" 

Neal set the bottle down and Peter said 

"Women."

"Tch." Neal said as Sam said "Hey what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing" Neal and Peter said at the same time

"They're gonna give you another four years for this, you know." Peter said to them

"I don't care." Neal said disappointedly

Peter gave Neal a sympathetic look. 

Neal looked at Peter and chuckled. Neal stood up and said 

"That's the same suit you were wearing the last time you arrested me."

Peter shrugged "Classics never go out of style"

Neal narrowed his eyes slowly, so that Peter could see he wasn't trying anything. He then plucked a fiber off of Peter's jacket and asked

"You know what this is?"

Peter laughed and said 

"No idea. I got from a case I was supposed to be working on before they yanked me off to find you."

They could faintly hear men shouting at each other as they talked

"You think you'll catch him?" Neal asked

"Don't know. He's good. Maybe as good as you."

Neal gave a small snort of derision before saying

"What's it worth if I tell you what this is? Is it worth a meeting?"

"What are you talking abou-?"

"If I tell you what this is, right now, will you agree to meet Sam and I back in prison in one week?" 

Peter mulled it over.

"Just a meeting" Neal said again

"Hallway, clear! You two, now get moving!" They couldn't see the person who was yelling yet but they could hear him. There was someone outside in the hallway and he wasn't alone by the sound of it. They could here many pairs of feet outside in the hallway.

"It's a security fiber for the new Canadian hundred dollar bill" Neal Said handing the fiber back to Peter

Armed men bursted into the room and handcuffed Neal and Sam. 

"One week" Neal said to Peter as the agents dragged him and Sam out. After the agents brought Sam and Neal back to jail. Peter had Diana checkout what Neal had said. When Peter went to work the next day he said to Diana

"Hey. What's got the belt and suspender boys all riled up.?"

"You."

"Me? What'd I do?"

"Caffrey was right. That stuff from the bank vault? Security fibers for the Canadian hundred."

Peter let out a breath and said "I'll be damned"

"Apparently, the formulation's still classified. The Canadian Secret Service are very curious to know how you figured it out."

"This should be fun."

"You may have started an international incident."


	3. The Deal

One week later

One of the guards came over to them

"Samantha Kingsmen, Neal Caffrey you have a visitor"

Sam and Neal looked at eachother and followed the guard out to meet there visitor. There visitor turned out to be Agent Peter Burke of the FBI. He had shown they weren't sure that he would but there he was.

"He showed" Sam said surprised

"Yes he did" Neal replied

Sam and Neal sat down at the table closest to where peter was standing.

"How'd you know?" Peter asked Neal

"C'mon, Peter. It's what I do. How upset were the Canadians?"

Peter laughed "Oh, very. Well, as upset as Canadians can get. Alright, so, I agreed to a meeting. We're meeting."

"Sam and I know why you call him the Dutchman"

This surprised Peter

"Like the ghost ship, he disappears whenever you get close." Sam said 

"How do you know anything about him?"

"You know my life, you don't think I know yours? Did you get the birthday cards?" Neal said "Nice touch.""You've been after the Dutchman almost as long as you were after me. Sam and I will help you catch him""Really? Really, how does that work? You wanna be prison pen pals?"Neal opened a folder on the table in front of him. Peter sat down and picked up the papers in the folder."You can get us out of here. There's case law, precedent. We can be released into your custody-"

"Nice. This is very nice. But you're right, I do know you, and I know the second you're out, you'll take off after Kate."

"Peter, I am not gonna run." Neal said earnestly

Peter gave Neal a look that sayed, Uh-huh, yeah, sure.

"Trust me he won't run. I know Neal that was earnest. He won't run"

"I have no reason to believe that. and I have no reason to trust you, you're a criminal" Peter said 

"That may be but I'm still trustworthy. I have never lied in my life" Sam said to him

"I find that hard to believe" 

"I never lie I just bend the truth"

"Sam you lie and you know it. by saying you don't lie you're lying" Neal said to Sam

"Just show Peter the other thing"

Neal Slid another sheet of paper to Peter "GPS tracking anklet. The new ones are tamper proof, never been skipped on."

"There's always a first time." Peter said

"Think about it."

"Sorry, Neal" Peter got up and pated Neal on the shoulder "Nice try" 

Peter left and Neal and Sam turned and watched there ticket out of prison walk out the door. The rest of their day was the same as always, filled with boring chores and horrible food. When night came Sam and Neal were the last ones with their lights on like always. There cells were right next to each other so they talked a lot. Bobby the policeman walked down the cell block like he always does. someone on the other end of Bobby's radio said

" Lights out, Bobby, shut 'em down."

"Neal, gotta turn that off.

"Can I get one more minute, Bobby?

"Okay, one more minute"

"Is it midnight yet?"

"Yeah, it's midnight" 

Bobby proceeded to the cell to the left of Neal's

"Sam, gotta turn that off"

"Okay Bobby"

Sam turned her light off and sighed. there meeting with Peter didn't go as well as they hoped. Sam could help but think about being locked up for another four years. she couldn't take another day let alone another four years. She through her book across the room.

"I can't take it anymore" she growled under her breath

In the cell next to her Neal sat up on his bed and looked at his wall of tally marks. He added a final one. He stood there a minute, looking at all of them. He swiped through them violently, drawing a big blobby X through them, shattering the naked light bulb in the process. He sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. He sighed again and turned to the opposite wall. He made a new mark: the start of his second four-year imprisonment. He hung his head. He felt exactly how Sam did, neither one of them could take four more years in prison. They needed to get out of there soon, but there one ticket out of there was Agent Peter Burke who had made it clear that he would not be taking them into his custody anytime soon if ever.

Meanwhile Peter was sitting in his living room with piles of papers spread out in front of him. He picked up a card with a picture of cupcake and the words "Happy Birthday" on it. He set it back down and his wife Elizabeth came down the stairs.

"Coming to bed tonight?" She asked 

"Yeah" 

Elizabeth Hugged Peter from behind and asked "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, don't tell me it's Neal Caffrey! I've been competing with him for three years."

"He'd be out today"

"You're considering his offer?"

Peter shrugged

" Well, of course you are, or you'd be in bed with me" Elizabeth said with a grin "Can he and his friend Sam help you find him?"

"Neal's smart. You know how much I like smart."

"Is he as smart as those Ivy League Co-eds they throw at you?" Elizabeth asked joking

"He's almost as brilliant as the woman I married"

"Ooh, good answer. So, what's the problem?"

"This is not the way it's supposed to go. You get caught, you do your time. There's more to this, more to this than some lost love. Some side angle he's playing."

"So you suggest he escapes a maximum security prison, knowing full well that you'd catch him, just so he could trick you into letting him out again?"

"It's a working theory."

"Yeah, keeping working."

They laughed hen Elizabeth asked Peter

"Is it so hard for you to believe a man would do that for the woman he loves?"

"Neal and Sam just bought themselves four more years in prison. For what?"

"For what? If you were Neal, you wouldn't have run for me."

Peter's mouth opened and closed, but he didn't say anything

"That still doesn't explain why Sam broke out with him"

"Doesn't it? Sam broke out with him because she cares about him. She knows what Alex means to Neal and what it would do to him if he lost her so Sam wanted to help him find Alex and get her back"

"How could you possibly know all that? You don't even know her"

"She could have disappeared completely after you caught Neal. She could have gone anywhere in the world. She could have even stayed here in New York and been perfectly safe. She could have lived a normal happy life but instead she came to you"

"You're right. I had no idea she even existed before she came to me and turned herself in"

before she came to me."

"That's my point. Now come to bed we can talk about this in the morning"


	4. Anything is better than prison.

The next morning Peter called the prison, he was going to take Neal and Sam into his custody, temporarily at least.If they helped him catch the Dutchman he would make it permanent. 

Neal and Sam were happy to hear that Peter had agreed to take them into his 

custody. Neal and Sam couldn't be released until they had the trackers on so they waited until the police got the trackers. The police lead Sam and Neal to the prison doors. The doors opened and Neal and Sam walked out. Sure enough Peter was waiting by his car for them

"Let me see them" Peter said referring to the trackers

Neal and Sam hitched up there pant legs, revealing the tracker.

"You understand how this works?" Peter asked 

"We're being released into the custody of the FBI, under your supervision, and this thing chaffs our legs. Anything I'm missing?" Neal said

"The part about what happens if we run" Sam told him

"Yeah, if you run, and I catch you two, which you know I will because I'm 2 and 0, you're not back here for four years, you're back here for good."

Neal and Sam nodded

"Neal you're going to be tempted to look for Kate, and Sam you're going to be tempted to help him. Don't." 

"I told you: the bottle meant goodbye." Neal said

"Then leave it at that. This is a temporary situation. Help me catch the Dutchman, we can make it permanent."

"Where we headed?" Neal said voicing what both he and Sam were wondering

"Your new home."

They drove to a crappy looking building in the city. According to the dirty sign it was a hotel

"This is our new home?" Sam asked in disbelief

She was wishing she had stayed in prison, prison was better than the hotel by far. Sam and Neal followed Peter into the sorry excuse of a hotel.

This is Neal Caffrey, and Samantha Kingsman, my office called earlier." Peter said to the man working behind the desk

Peter was grinning well Neal and Sam were clearly uncomfortable as they stood in the really crappy hotel lobby.

The man working the hotel desk held out a key to Neal and said

"There you go, Snake Eyes" 

"Thank you" Neal said to the man

The man held another key out to Sam and she took it. She smiled at him and said

"Thanks" 

"Can we talk to you for a second?" Neal quietly asked Peter 

Neal drew Peter away Sam following right behind them. Sam glanced at the man standing right there and said to the boys

"Pst, maybe a little farther down."

"Good idea" Neal told her quietly. 

They went a little farther down the hallway so they could talk just the three of them

"Do we have to stay here?" Neal asked,still whispering

"Cowboy up. All right, it costs 700 a month each to house you two on the inside, so that's what it costs here. For the money, this is as good as it gets. You find something better- take it." Peter said not quite as quietly as Neal 

"What about clothes? I'm wearing my entire wardrobe" Neal asked still whispering

"So am I" Sam said also whispering 

"You like thrift stores. There's one at the end of the block." Peter said 

Neal and Sam opened their mouths than closed them almost immediately, like they were going to say something but thought better of it. 

"No, don't start, no, no protests. This is what you two wanted, isn't it? Look at it, it's not- Oh, look at her, you don't get that in prison, do you? No, not at all." Peter said not at all concerned about keeping his voice down 

"He-ey" the woman leaning against the counter said to Neal

"Listen, your tracking anklets are set up so you can go anywhere within two miles of this place." Peter told them

"Here's your homework." Peter said plopping a rather large file into Neal's hand

"Remember, two miles"

Peter jabed Neal in the chest and turned to leave.

"I'll see you at 7 AM" Peter said to them 

He closed the door and was gone. The man behind the counter swatted another fly.

"Why don't we go to the thrift store?" Sam asked

"It's better than staying here in this shithole" he said quietly to Sam 

They walked to the store in silence, both thinking about how there life on the outside was going so far. 

"Hopefully we can find something decent in here" Sam said when they walked into the thrift store 

Neal flippined unhappily through a rack of pants. And Sam was looking at a nearby rack of shirts. An older, clearly very rich, lady entered holding a stack of old suits.

"Hello." the clerk said 

"I've come to donate these." the lady said to the clerk

Neal wandered over inconspicuously.

"Old suits." the clerk said

"Mm-hmm." The lady said

"Those are fantastic." Neal told her 

"Ooh! They belong to my late husband, Byron. He really had great taste in clothes."

"Oh. May I?" Neal asked

The clerk handed Neal a jacket, which he examined

"This is a Devore." Neal said appreciatively

"Yes, he won it from Sy himself." the lady told him

"Won it?"

"He beat him at a back door draw."

"Your husband played poker with Sy Devore?

"He certainly did. And so did I."

"No" Neal said clearly blown away

"Yes. The guys would even let me sit in once in a while on a hand. And I was good."Neal laughed and reached for one of Byron's old hats, and flipped it onto his head."I'm glad to see you appreciate these. I was hoping someone would. I've got a whole closet full of them." "A whole closet?""Mm-hmm. Well, actually, it's a guest room, but, um, but I haven't used it for anything but storage for years."Neal shrugged into a jacket."Oh, Byron used to wear that one whenever we went dancing. The neighborhood was... let's say it was much nicer than""Well, you live nearby?""Not far."

Neal smiled slightly. Sam walked over to Neal and held two shirts up

Left Right 

"Umm" Neal said

"The one on the left" The lady told Sam

"Thanks" She held her hand out and said "My name's Sam"

The lady to Sam's hand and said "June, it a pleasure to meet you" 

"Believe me the pleasures all mine" she smiled at June and June smiled back at her

"I see you've met Neal" Sam said

"Yes he's quite a lovely young man"

"Pain in the ass is more like it" Sam said

Neal shot her a look

"I'm not a pain in the ass" he argued

"You kinda are" Sam said

"You're the pain in the ass" Neal told her

"You're a bigger pain in the ass than I am"

"If you say so"

"I say so"

June smiled at them and said

"You two make an adorable couple"

"Oh thanks but we're not a couple" Sam told her "We're just very good friends, best friends really"

"Oh, well you could have fooled me"

"I'm going to go put this back" Sam said referring to the shirt she decided that she didn't want. Sam picked out a few more things well Neal and June talked. Sam brought the stuff over to them and asked June for her opinion. June helped Sam pick out what would look best on her, and Sam paid for them. June had agreed to let Neal and Sam stay in her guest room. Which they were grateful for. They walked home with June and she showed them around her house before leading them to the guest room were they would be staying. Neal and Sam hung there stuff up in the closet, Sam on the left and Neal on the right. Neal put one of his hats on Sam.

"You look cute" Neal told her

"Thanks" Sam said blushing and starting at her feet. She couldn't look at him for fear if she did he would figure out that she was in love with him. She couldn't tell him not now, he was still in love with Alex. And besides even if he wasn't in love with someone else he could never love Sam like that. Could he?

Neal lifted her head up and said

"You have no reason to be embarrassed. You're beautiful embrace it"

Sam blushed again this time even more red then before. She couldn't believe that Neal had just called her beautiful. To him it didn't mean anything but to Sam it meant everything.

"Come on Neal we gotta start working on the case"

"Yeah you're right"

"I always am"

"Yeah sure you are"

"I am, now shut up and get the file" 

"Yes ma'am"

Sam stuck her tongue out at Neal like a little kid causing Neal to smile. For the rest of the evening they worked on the case.


	5. The hunted become the hunters

The next day Peter walked into the shabby hotel lobby. 

"Hey. I'm here for Caffrey, room 11,and Kingsmen, room 12" he said to the destination clerk

"Oh, yeah, yeah, ol' Snake Eyes. Nice Guy. Left ya a note"

He handed Peter a note. Peter unfolded the note and It sayed..

"Dear Peter,

Sam and I have moved 1.6 miles, 351 Riverside Drive,

"XOXO Neal".

Peter drove to the 351 Riverside Drive not believing that Neal and Sam could have found something nicer for 700 dollars each a month. When Peter got out of his car at Sam and Neal's new address he gasped at the house 

"You've got to be kidding me"

Peter knocked and a maid answered the door

"I think I have the wrong address."

"You must be Peter." June said from the other room

"I'm looking for Neal Caffrey and Samantha Kingsmen" Peter said in disbelief

"They're upstairs"

Peter was speechless he went up the stairs still not believing what was happening. Neal and Sam lived there in that beautiful house, he didn't think so. Peter opened the door to the roof to find Neal lounging in a robe, reading a newspaper and Sam sitting next to Neal reading a book.

"You're early." Neal said

"We're chasing a lead at the airport. We got a hit on Snow White."

"Snow White... the phrase you decoded from a suspected Dutchman comunidade at Barcelona. Uh" Sam said

"You moved." Peter said

"Yeah, it's nice than the other place, don't you think?" Neal answered

"The smell alone is better. Here I don't feel like barfing" Sam told Peter 

"Yeah, I don't remember the other place having a view." Peter Said

"We went to the thrift store, like you suggested, and June-" Neal started

"The lady with the dog. We met." Peter interrupted

"Was donating her late husband's clothes. We hit it off, she had an extra guest room..." Neal finished

"Ehm" 

"You said, if we found a nicer place for the same price, we should take it." Sam pointed out

"I did say that. All this for seven hundred?" Peter asked still not believing what was going  
on.

"Yep. But we help out around the place." Neal told him

"Oh, sure, feed the dog-" 

"Yeah, wash the Jag" Sam told him 

"I watch her granddaughter from time to time." Neal said 

"She's got you baby sitting?" Peter asked

A really attractive young girl who was obviously not as young as Peter was thinking walked by.

"How's it going?" Peter asked her 

"Morning, Neal. Sam" she said 

"Granddaughter?" Peter asked

"She's an art student." Neal told him

"Yeah her name's Cindy" Sam said 

"Unbelievable. Go get dressed" 

Neal and Sam left to get dressed 

"You mind?" Peter asked 

He sat down and June's pug pulled her over to the table

"Hey, Grandma." Cindy said to June

"Good morning, Cindy."

Peter siped the coffee "It's perfect. Even the freaking coffee's perfect."

June laughed and Peter said

"That's not jewelry on their ankles, you know. The're felons."

June leaned forward and said conspiratorially "So was Byron."

Peter walked down stairs and waited for Neal and Sam at the bottom of the stairs. Neal walked down the stairs Sam right behind him.

Neal twirled a hat onto his head.

"You look like a cartoon." Peter told him

"This is classic Rat Pack. This is a Devore."

"Oh, sorry. Dino." Peter said

Neal took of the hat and flipped it onto his head again, Sam smiled

"Would you stop with the hat? C'mon, let's go."

"You're upset!" Neal said. He then muttered

"Sour grapes." under his breath causing Sam to giggle

"What was that?" Peter asked

"Look, you tell me which rule I broke and I will thumb it back to prison myself." Neal told him

"For starters..."

"Mm?" Neal asked

"You can't think of any. Can you?" Sam said

"I work hard, I do my job well, and I don't have a 10 million dollar view of Manhattan that I share with a 22 year-old art student while we sip espresso!"

"Why not?" Neal asked

"Why not?" 

"Yeah."

"Because I'm not supposed to. The amount of work I do equals certain things in the real world not- cappuccino in the clouds!"

"Look, I will find out where June buys her coffee if it's that important." Neal told him

"It's not about the coffee." Peter said

"I think it is." Neal insisted

"No, it's not." Peter told him

"It's about the coffee" Sam said to Neal. Neal nodded his head in agreement.

"It's not about the coffee" Peter insisted

Neal and Sam just looked at him. Peter laughed a little.

"This is what gets you into trouble. This is the start of those something-for-nothing schemes that lead to the frauds that got you locked up"

"I think it's... some sort of Italian roast" Neal said

"I think you're right, it's some kind of Italian roast. I'll ask June when we get back" Sam said to Neal. Neither one was paying much attention to Peter or anything he was saying.

"Get in the car!" Peter told them

"Okay." Sam and Neal said in unison

Peter followed Neal and Sam out the door.  
They drove to the airport, nobody talked the hole ride their. It wasn't a comfortable silence but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable either. Neal and Sam followed Peter in and waited for him to tell them why they were here. Peter started walking towards who they assumed was another FBI agent.

"Who's that?" Neal asked

"That's Diana. Diana's my probie."

"Probie?" Sam asked

"Probationary agent. She does everything I don't, she's very good at her job, and she can do way better than either of you."

When they reached Diana Peter greeted her with a Hey

"You must be Neal Caffrey. Nice hat." she said to Neal

Neal grinned and Sam introduce herself to Diana

"Hey I'm Sam" she said holding her hand out to Diana. Diana took Sam's hand and said

"Diana"

"it's nice to meet you Diana"

"Nice to meet you too"

"What've we got?" Peter asked Diana

"His name's Tony Field. Customs flagged him coming in from Spain in response to our Snow White BOLO."

"Customs playing nice?"

"Ah, the usual chest pounding. He's in their custody, not ours."

"Less paperwork for me. What's he carrying?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this"

Diana lead Sam, Neal and Peter to a table with heald Suitcases full of books. Diana, Neal, Sam and Peter all examined them.

"Blancanieves y Los Siete Enanos?" Peter asked reading the title of the book

"Snow White and her Seven Little Men." Sam told him

"This is what triggered our alert? What do we know about this guy?" Peter asked

"Says he's a rare book dealer." Diana told him

"Anything wrong with his paperwork?"

"Nope. He brought in the same books in the same quantity on three previous trips. He declared them each time."

" All right, Dino. Are we wasting our time?"

"They're not limited runs or special editions. Can't be worth much." Neal said

" So why go through all the trouble of flying them in?"

"Good question." Sam and Neal said in unison. They talk in unison quite a bit.

"He sure is nervous for having all the right paperwork." Diana said

"I want to talk to him." Peter said

"I'll set it up. Hey boss, I'm grabbing some coffee. You want some?"

"Yeah, anything but decaf."

"Diana, I'll take mine straight."

"Neal, the coffee shop's outside."

"You are way out of your league" Peter told him

"He's never out of his league, unless it's a lesbian or a straight dude. Although he also a straight dude so he doesn't have the is he gay or straight? Problem. I on the other hand am Pansexual so...Yeah"

"Oh, harmless flirting. It's like a dance." Neal told Peter

"No, there is no dance. You're not even on her dance card. No dancing for you."

"Um, she digs the hat"

"Peter: Um, she'd rather be wearing that hat."

Neal looked blank for a second. Then he caught on. Sam on the other hand got it immediately. 

"I didn't know you were Pansexual" Neal said to Sam as they followed Peter to talk to Tony Field.

"Well now you do"

"Can I ask what that means? Being Pansexual I mean"

"It means that I'm attracted to both men, and women, biological or otherwise."

"Oh"

"Yeah"

They were quite the rest of they way to where Tony Field was being held

"Peter Burke, FBI." Peter told Tony 

"FBI? Oh, you're really kicking it up a notch."

"So, you're a book dealer."

"Yes, well, as I told everyone here, repeatedly, my business is the import and sale of rare books."

"How rare can they be? You've got 600 of them."

"Like me to go the crime lab, help you dust for fingerprints."

"I get it. 'Cause I'm telling you how to do your job."

Tony had a look on his face that said Yeah, that was the joke

"So... Snow White. In Spanish."

"Snow White was not created by Disney, detective. There are a few stories the predate Steamboat Willie."

"I'm a federal agent. And, you mean folklore, the virginally pure queen? Like Alexander Pushkin's "Tale of the White Princess and the Seven Knights." Is that what you mean?"

Tony was caught off-guard.

"What are the books for?" Peter asked him

Before Tony could answer the door bursts open.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't talk to my client. Constitution and all." 

"Were you chasing the ambulance or did that give you a ride? Huh? Must've thumbed it." Peter said to the lawyer

Peter losed the door behind him when he left.  
Diana was flirting with a female customs agent. Neal watched and when Peter walked up to him he asked

"No dance, huh?"

"Not for you."

"I thought the FBI had a policy"

"That's the military. We don't ask. We don't care." Peter told Neal

"Where's the Customs Inspector?" Peter asked Diana

Diana walked over, pointing "Neal was right, the books aren't worth much. You can pick them up for a few dollars on Ebay."

"Hey, why didn't you tell me that guy lawyered up? The second he makes that call, I can't talk to him." Peter aske she custom Inspector

"He didn't call anybody." the customs Inspector told Peter

"Then how did his lawyer know that he-"

Peter had an epiphany. He started running. The Inspector, Neal, Sam and Diana follow.

Peter bursted through the door or the room Tony was in, everyone behind him. He ran up to Tony, and saw the hypodermic needle in his neck, and backs off

"I need paramedics in here now!" The customs Inspector yelled 

"Nobody frisked the lawyer?!" Peter asked

Neal,Sam, Diana, and Peter went back to the Suitcases of books and poured over trying to figure out what was so important about a bunch of worthless books

"Got a dead book dealer, a killer lawyer and a bunch of worthless books. All right, come on, as a reformed professional counterfeiter, what is the Dutchman's interest in these?" Peter said

Neal and Sam were each starting at book. Muttering to each other

"Published 1944 in Madrid" Neal muttered

He and Sam got it

"This is what he's after." Sam said

Neal slide a ruler under the top sheet of the book.

"Top sheet?" Peter asked

"Eh, more than that. This is a piece of 1944 Spanish press parchment." Sam told him

"That's what he wanted. Good. This is good." Peter said

"He's going to counterfeit something that was originally printed on paper like that" Diana said

"That's what I would do." Neal told them

"Tony made three prior shipments with these" Peter said

"Two blank pages of a book is 600 sheets." Sam and Neal said at the same time

"Too many for paintings, not enough for currency. I bet our dead book dealer knew. Diana, where's that wallet?" 

"It's right here."

Peter leafed through wallet

"This is where he went, the day before he left for Spain."

Peter throw down a visitor pass to The National Archives.

"Then that's where we go next. right?" Sam said

"Yeah that's where we go next" Peter confirmed 


	6. Runaways

"El? Honey?" Peter called to his wife when he finished shaving his face the next morning

There was no answer so he

Sneaked into his and Elizabeth's room and riffles through Elizabeth's books, her CDs, opened her laptop and opened an old vacation picture

"Ah, you haven't changed. I've changed." he said to himself

The phone rang and Peter closed the laptop and answers it

"Yeah, this is Burke"

"It's Jones. Caffrey and Kingsmen's anklets are activated. Are they with you?"

"No. I'm coming."

"I've got Diana on it, pulling up their locations."

"El, I've got to go, Neal and Sam are outside there radius."

he heard Laughter. Peter came down the stairs and saw Neal, Sam and Elizabeth looking at the forgery.

"Burke, you still there?" Jones asked

"Caffrey and Kingsmen are with me"

"You're sure?" Jones asked 

"Yeah, yeah" 

Peter hung up

"Good morning, Honey." Elizabeth Said to him

"Peter." Neal said

"Morning Burke" Sam said

"You're on my couch." Peter said

"Yeah, we came to talk to you, and, uh, frankly Peter, I have to say I'm surprised you have such an amazing wife."

"Yeah me too" Sam said

"Yeah, I like her. Get off my couch." 

"Honey, we're just chatting." Elizabeth told Peter

"Chatting. How did you get here?"

"Cab." Neal said

"You activated your trackers. You're in my house, on my couch, with my wife."

The dog whined and Neal leaned over to pet him 

"Oh, hey Satchmo." Neal said

"And you're petting my dog."

"Peter, did you really put Elizabeth under surveillance before you asked her out?"

Peter was embarrassed.

"Peter. I underestimated you." Neal said

"You told them" 

"Oh, he said he wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing anybody else. Honey, I think it's cute!"

"I think it's adorable." Sam told him

"I'm putting you both back in prison." 

peter dialed the phone

"We know who the Dutchman is." Neal told him

The phone was ringing.

"Enlighten me." Peter said

"Curtis Hagan." Sam told him

Peter hung up the phone and shrugged at Neal and Sam

"He's an art restorer. One of the best in the world, but his own work never took off. He's particularly good at Goya restorations. That's what this is, Peter. The bond is him showing off." Neal told him

"Interesting theory. How do we prove it?"

"He signed it." Sam told him

"I think we might've noticed a signature tucked in the corner." Peter said

"Show him." Elizabeth told Neal

"Look at the pants on the Spanish peasant. What do you see? It's the initials C and H." said Neal

"I don't know, that's a stretch"

"This bond is a masterpiece. If I'd done something this good, I would've signed it." Sam told him

"Hey, the forgeries you caught me on, I signed them." Neal told him

"Where?"

"Look at the bank seal under polarized light sometime."

Peter winced

"Hagan is doing a church restoration on Third Street; we can stop by on our way in." Sam said

"Fine. Meet me in the car" 

Nea and Sam didn't move

"I'm going to say goodbye to my wife now."

"It's nice to meet you." Neal told Elizabeth

"Nice to meet you. After all these years"

"It was lovely to meet you Elizabeth" Sam said

"Likewise"

Sam and Neal left. Peter kissed Elizabeth goodbye. 

"Love you"

"Love you too"

Neal and Sam waited patiently by the car for Peter.

"Get in" he told them unlocking the car

"I call shotgun" Sam said

"You're suck a little kit sometimes" Neal said

"I know but you love me anyway"

"Yeah you're right"

"Just get in the car. We've got to go find this Curtis Hagan guy" Peter said sounding annoyed

When they got to the church. Men were busy at work painting.

"This is it?" Peter asked

"Yep" said Neal

"You can't come in, we're closed for restoration." a priest told them went they walked in

"Oh, sorry, father." Peter said

"Oh, could we- could we just- could we just have a moment, thank you. Father." Neal asked 

Neal took the priest aside so Peter can't hear them. He motand for Sam to come over with him 

"Wha-?" Peter started to ask

"Please, Father, our best friend is having a crisis of the soul. He's a married man and he has the most devastatingly beautiful assistant at work, a very provocative woman. He's been tempted. More than tempted, I have details." Neal whispered to the priest 

"Were very worried about him" sam told the priest

"It's very common with men his age. Unfortunately, very common." The priest told them

"And we want to confront him about this before he tears apart his life. He has a lot of faults, I mean don't get me started, he is a mess, but he's very spiritual." Neal continued 

They all looked at Peter. Peter fidgeted and smiled cluelessly.

"We know this is the place where our words will have the most effect." Sam told him

"This is the city of churches. We're closed. Surely, there's another place-" 

"This is where he was married." Neal said cutting the Priest off 

The priest Sighed " Five minutes." He told them

"Thank you, thank you, Father." Neal said to the priest

"Sorry about that, we've got five." Neal told Peter 

"Did you just lie to a priest?" Peter asked them

"Do you think Diana's attractive?" Sam asked

"Sure."

"Then we're good." Neal told him 

They walked up to painting.

"Extraordinary." Neal said

"It really is magnificent isn't it?" Sam said looking at the painting with admiration

"Real nice. Well, if this Hagan guy is as good as you say, how come I've never heard of him?"

"You only know the guys who got caught. You know the second best criminals." Neal told him 

"What's that say about you?" Peter asked

"It says there's an exception to every rule." neal said annoyed "Look, C and H." 

"Where?"

"Right here. Right- there. C, H."

Neal Magnified a pattern on the hem of a dress.

"Maybe." Peter said

"What do you mean maybe? that's a C and an H" Sam said looking at what Neal had found

"Can I help you, gentleman?" Hagen asked

"Helloo, last I checked I wasn't a gentleman. I'm not any type of man. Why does nobody pay attention to the chick" Sam said annoyed 

"Your face- it's very familiar. Maybe I've seen it on the news, or perhaps on a most wanted web page." Hagen said to Neal completely ignoring Sam wich pissed her off even more

"Neal Caffrey." Neal said extending a hand.

"Forgive me if I don't shake hands with an art thief." Hagan said

"I was never arrested for art theft." Neal pointed out 

H"Not arrested, but as I recall you were known as quite the Renaissance criminal. So you can understand my concern at having you in my space."

"And... you are?" hagan asked Peter

"Just a friend."

"Well, friend. This church is closed."

They left 

"Did you see it?" Neal asked

"Okay, you've got me curious, we'll check him out."

"Listen to the spirit son, not the flesh." the priest told Peter on there way out

"I'll do that."

"What's that about?" Peter asked Neal and Sam

"Dont worry about it" Neal told him

It wasn't until they were all safely in the car that Sam started ranting. She ranted for almost the entirety of the trip back to the FBI headquarters 

"Did you guy see that? Hagan was totally ignoring me. He disregarded my existence and when I confronted him about it he completely ignored me. Who does he think he is? He can't treat me like that, with so much disrespect. I swear I could strangle that man. Now we have to catch that good for nothing son of a bitch"

"Just because he was rude to you once?" Peter asked

"Trust me Peter it could be a lot worst. One time she plotted a waiters murder because he refused to give here the chicken salad." Neal told him

"He gave me tuna salad, I hate tuna." 

"Then why did you order tuna?" Peter asked

"I didn't I ordered chicken but the waiter insisted that I ordered tuna. What happened to the customer is always right? I clearly ordered chicken, I would have never ordered tuna. Never!"

"Okay calm down" Peter told here

"Peter this is normal for her. Give her a minute and she'll calm down" Neal told him

A few minutes later they pulled into Peters parking spot. Sam had finally calmed down by the time she had sat down at her desk with was located right behind Neal's

Peter motioned for Neal and Sam to meet him in the room. Neal walked in followed by Sam Conference

"Shut the door" Peter said

Sam did

"I Need your help with this." he told them

"This information on Hagan?" Neal asked

"No, Diana's on her way with that."

"This is your wife's visa bill." Sam said

"Yeah, I got it all. Her Ebay bids, video rentals, library books. Thank you, Patriot Act."

"So, you're stalking your own wife." Neal said

"You want to compare notes."

"Touché. You figure out what she likes?"

"Yeah, it's all in the summary. Pottery making, Nancy Drew mysteries, scented candles- Oleander. Old jazz. Anything Italian except anchovies-"

"Yeah, I don't think you're going to find your answer tucked into a list of her Ebay bids." Neal told him

"Then help me out here. All right, you're the romantic. I mean, what's the deal with the bottle."

"It's an '82 Bordeaux" Sam told him

"Yeah, costs 800 bucks a pop."

"It does when it's full. I got it empty." Neal said

"Empty?"

"Look, when Kate and I met, we had nothing. I got that bottle, and I used to fill it up with whatever cheap wine we could afford and we'd sit in that crappy apartment and drink it over cold pizza and pretend we were living in the Cote d'Azur."

"How'd that work out for you?"

"It didn't. Because that bottle was a promise of a better life. What Kate got was a guy locked away for half a decade. Make Elizabeth, any promises, Peter? Or do you think all she wants is Oleander candles?"

"If it were me I'd want something with meaning behind it. you know emotional significants" Sam told him

Diana knocked on the door.

"Hey, Diana. What've you got?"

"Hagan is leaving the country. He booked a flight through a private charter company in Barcelona for the 19th."

"One week. Damn it, Neal, seeing you must've tipped him off."

"He's going to Spain, that's something."

"Is there any connection our books, the bonds, or the murder?"

"Hagan's as impressive as hell. A lot of international holdings, but he keeps himself out of the muck."

"You get every available agent on this. You know the good ones, steal 'em if you have to. I want to know every single thing about this guy and I don't want any excuse. Anything gets in your way-"

"Forge your signature. Always do."

"That's what I want to hear!"

Diana left and Peter turned back to Neal and Sam

"If you're right about Hagan, we have on week to connect him to the bond. If we lose him on the 19th... Neal,Sam if we lose him, you're both back in. I can't save you guys"

"come on let's go home" Sam said to Neal

"Yeah let's go home"


	7. Now were getting somewhere

Sam, Neal, Peter and Jones went back to the FBI HQ. Sam and Neal sat down at their desks and Peter went into the conference room. Neal sat in his chair fiddling with a cigarette. He tore off the filter. Inside, there was an address. Neal grinned as he looked down at the address.

Meanwhile in the conference room Peter was looking at a computer. There's a beach background on it. He smiled and Neal knocked Sam right behind him 

"I found my bottle." Peter said

Neal Held up the address and said "I found Hagan."

"You first."

"There's this warehouse, down by the docks. Hagan runs it through a shell corporation out of Guatemala." Neal told him

"We didn't know about this, how did you?"

"I don't think you rely on rumor as much as Sam and I do."

"Let's go."

Neal, Sam, and Peter drove to the docks. The docks were heavily guarded. Peter, Sam and Neal stayed out of sight, next to a large door.

Neal and Sam pressed their ears against door.

"Did ya hear that? Peter." Neal asked

"Hear what?"

"Kind of a rhythmic shh-shh. That's a press. Damn it Peter, that is a printing press. He's printing bonds in there right now, you can hear him!" Sam said

"How long until they're done?" Peter asked 

" A multicolor print shop as complicated as the Goya. Test proofs, ink formulation, perfection registration, he'll be running it for days." Neal told him 

Peter diald phone 

"Diana." 

"Yeah, boss?"

"I need recording equipment down here immediately."

"You got it."

They went back to the FBI HQ to make a plain of action. They held a meeting in the conference room

"I am on board. Hagan is our guy. We still don't have enough for a warrant."

"We know the bonds are there, just open the door." Neal said

"Yeah why not just go in and arrest him?" Sam asked

"Neh. Mmm-hm. Well, you two should read this." Peter slid a book across the table to Neal and Sam

"Warrant law. All I've got is sound coming out of a warehouse and no way to link him to the bond." Peter leaned over the desk. 

"I've got to talk to your friend."

"Friend?"

"C'mon, Neal, the guy who gave you a cigarette."

"I have no-"

"What, do you think Jones is an idiot?"Neal sighed and Sam gave him a look like 'I told you he'd want to talk to Mozzie'

"I have to know how he connected Hagan to the warehouse. C'mon, Neal, and you gotta trust me." Peter said

"Okay, okay. I'll bring you to him. First thing tomorrow." Neal told him


End file.
